


Four Leaf Clovers

by Propriety_is_not_a_priority



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aromantic Character, Asexual Character, Asexual Darcy, Asexual Relationship, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Crying, Cuddling, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Natasha Feels, Polyamory, Queerplatonic Relationships, aromantic natasha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-03-10 22:39:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3305984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Propriety_is_not_a_priority/pseuds/Propriety_is_not_a_priority
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“In what world could ‘lack of romantic or sexual attraction’ possibly be construed as enough of a foundation for people to have fun together? I will have nothing in common with anyone there. It’s a ridiculous idea, I’m not going.”<br/>Clint grinned at her, making her narrow her eyes in suspicion.<br/>“What?”<br/>“You said <em>will</em>.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Four Leaf Clovers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [surgicalstainless](https://archiveofourown.org/users/surgicalstainless/gifts).



> Alright, this turned out a little longer than the planned 1k! Complicated people take a little longer to get together, apparently. 
> 
> This is based on wonderful requests from @surgicalstainless, asking for fluff, Bucky Barnes, Darcy Lewis, Natasha Romanov and an asexual character. I got around to a bit from all of them, I believe <3 
> 
>  
> 
> A huge thank you to my beta, @Nerakrose, for doing this sort of last minute, and for giving me a title idea, because I suck at titles.

**2009**

“No.”

“Aw Nat, don’t be like that, it could be fun!” Clint stepped in front of her in the narrow hallway, forcing her to slow down. She refused to stop, and enjoyed seeing him scramble to walk backwards without falling.

“In what world could ‘lack of romantic or sexual attraction’ possibly be construed as enough of a foundation for people to have fun together? I will have nothing in common with anyone there. It’s a ridiculous idea, I’m not going.”

Clint grinned at her, making her narrow her eyes in suspicion. “What?”

“You said _will_.”

____

 

The cake had purple icing covering it in a thick layer. The man, Joshua, told her to pick a piece first, since she was the newest. She ended up with the first chocolate _A_ from the _AroAce_.

They were all going to be seated on plastic chairs, in something approaching a circle. Natasha hesitated for a second, most of all wanting a seat with her back against the wall, but they were all equally, uncomfortably exposed.

A white, brunette woman who couldn’t be older than 22, was waving her over enthusiastically, a big smile on very red lips. Natasha approached warily.

“Hi! Sit next to me, if you want. I’m Darcy.”

____

 

“That’s disgusting.”

Darcy laughed in response, bumping her shoulder into Natasha’s. “Stop being such a sourpatch, McGrumpy! We’re young and life is an adventure.”

Natasha refrained from telling Darcy, that technically, she was at least twice her age, possibly thrice. It was hard to tell.

“Anyway, you picked the sugar-free vanilla one, which literally no one does or should do, so I hardly think you can criticize.” Darcy continued, before stuffing what amounted to an entire scoop of ice cream into her mouth, leaving creamy stains on her lipstick and pink stains on her spoon.

“It reminds me a little of condensed milk flavor. It’s very popular in Russia, but I can’t find it anywhere over here. Besides, it’s not the same at all, mine might be unusual, but yours is an abomination. Chili and ginger ice cream defeats the entire purpose of ice cream, which is to be cooling and refreshing.”

Darcy snorted, waving off her complaint. “Whatever, you’re clearly stuck in your ways.”

They found a bench in the shade, so Darcy could protect her skin, which she swore turned lobster red if she as much as looked at a sunny weather forecast.

“So, Nat, what do you do anyway?”

Natasha stiffened, but Darcy continued on oblivious: “The group is super cool, but it’s a bit weird that the first thing I knew about you at all, was that you’re aro, I mean, that’s not really how you get to know people, right? And even after knowing you a couple of weeks, I still have no idea if you live here in DC and what you work with, or, most importantly, what kind of movies you like. Tell me everything!”

Natasha, uncharacteristically, hesitated a few seconds before lying, and told her about being a sales agent for a large firm, traveling abroad and negotiating business expansions.

Darcy believed her, of course. Why wouldn’t she?

She made an exaggerated sound of disappointment at learning that Natasha would only be in Washington DC for a few months, as she healed up from a small “workplace accident.”

Natasha wondered what Darcy would say, if she knew about the gunshot wound still stinging in her abdomen, courtesy of the Winter Soldier. She felt a sense of ironic gratitude that Darcy was asexual, and wouldn’t be inclined to want to see her naked, because she wasn’t sure that she could have resisted, if it was on offer.

When they had finished their desserts, and had gotten up to walk around in the shade of the trees, Darcy took her hand. Natasha didn’t resist, even though Darcy’s was sticky with residue ice cream. She rambled about her studies at Culver in Willowdale, her friends and teachers, and what a pain it was to drive all the way to DC once a month. Her smile said that the 3½ hour drive was worth it, and when Natasha needled her, she admitted that the group had helped her a lot.

The fondness in her voice made Natasha feel more than she wanted to, and her hand was sweaty where Darcy was touching it. She didn’t let go.

 

**2010**

____

 

The first thing Natasha did when Clint got her out of the cellar, where she’d been detained, was resetting her shoulder and thumb. The second thing was stealing his phone to check her email.

Darcy had sent her 13 new mails in the period from January 11th to January 21st, in an increasingly frantic and demanding language. Clint complained that she only wanted him for his internet access and lamented the lack of gratitude valiant rescuers got these days. He fell into a bicycle stand when she tripped him.

 

**2011**

“You changed your hair!” Darcy shouted, voice shrill through the filter of the microphones. Her face lagged a few seconds behind the sound. Skype was a shitty program.

Natasha hummed in acknowledgement. The sooner she was done with the Stark job, the better.

Jobs where looking pretty and agreeing to everything were main factors, made it a lot harder not to kill her sparring partners as she was taking out her frustrations, and Clint didn’t appreciate that. On a whim she decided to complain to Darcy about the current deal she was negotiating, describing Stark and his obnoxious arrogance, without putting a name out. Darcy was very sympathetic, and told her to go out and get laid to get rid of her frustrations. Natasha wanted to hug her or maybe scream. They hadn’t seen each other face-to-face in 5 months.

____

 

Natasha had a new appreciation for Darcy’s crazy ideas. Maybe going to the middle of nowhere in New Mexico for an internship, which had next to no relevance for her studies, had seemed somewhat incomprehensible, but at least it had the side effect of removing her from Culver, where the Hulk had chosen to make its reappearance. Natasha had observed and reported to SHIELD, but most of her internal narrative had been focused on being relieved that Darcy was out of danger. Attachment was a strange and distracting thing.

____

 

Apparently, no place was safe. Natasha wanted to scream at the absurdity of the situation. Darcy having to keep secrets from her too, even though none of them had ever wanted to have secrets from each other. At least she was following the non-disclosure agreement Coulson had forced on her, that would make her life a lot easier. She had no way of knowing that Natasha knew, and the strained explanation she’d given for moving away from New Mexico again, made Natasha grit her teeth.

Extraterrestrials. Super-powered extraterrestrials with superior technology. And Darcy was smack in the middle of it. On top of that, both Coulson and Clint had met her now, and she had a hard time deciding what was worse - the knowing glint in Coulson’s eyes or Clint's incessant teasing.

 

**2012**

Captain America turned out to be less stuck in the 40s than she’d feared. He seemed open, in a way she hadn’t expected and he responded to her teasing tone earnestly, but with humor. Not once did she catch him looking anywhere but her face, despite the skintight outfit. Not even Clint had managed that.

His reaction to Banner was kind and his response to everything he saw was curious acceptance, even if it must’ve all been very new and frightening. The Helicarrier seemed like science fiction to her, often enough. It was pretty impressive, actually.

He seemed set to ‘fight for what was right’ again, despite the grief shining out of his posture and the way the skin around his eyes showed small signs of exhaustion, even despite the serum. She knew how hard you had to work, to wear your body down, when it was primed for perfection. She didn’t know if it was ridiculous or beautiful that Steve Rogers, in all his flawed glory, seemed to be just as good a man as his legend would have it seem.

____

 

“I am _so_ angry with you, cupcake!” was the first thing Darcy shouted into her ear, when she answered the phone. It was a burner phone Natasha had bought specifically to call Darcy a few months back, and somehow never got around to actually burning. She had been enjoying Darcy’s snapchats too much, probably. Steve looked up at her, from where he was falling asleep on the wrap from his shawarma. He’d finished twice as fast as her.

She didn’t bother pretending like she didn’t know what Darcy was talking about. There was evidence of the battle all over the internet.

“I’m sorry I lied to you.” She said quietly, feeling too tired to deal with this. She didn’t want to lose Darcy, but things had happened the only way they could. She lied. It was her job – an assassin doesn’t get a private life. She didn’t regret it, but she wished that it hadn’t been necessary.

“Wha- No! I mean, yeah, that too, but _what_ were you _doing_ fighting gross aliens with your _bare hands_.” Darcy paused to inhale loudly and somewhat shakily, but before Natasha could come up with something reassuring to say, she’d continued: “You don’t even have super powers! Or do you?! Nevermind, there was, like, six of you and 2 billion of them, it was _a fucking terrible idea_.”

“We had no choice. I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have found out like this.” Natasha leaned against the wall. She’d gotten up to take the call, but her legs were shaky. The adrenaline was wearing off completely - she had about an hour before she’d need to lie down, or fall asleep standing.

“Yeah well – I don’t know how I feel about that, in fact, I’m sort of pretending it didn’t happen at the moment, so maybe we’ll talk about that later, when I’m not freaking the fuck out. But more importantly, are you alright, babe?”

The concern in Darcy’s voice made her stomach clench and her breath stutter. She closed her eyes, rolling her head around ‘till her forehead pressed against the cool wallpaper. She hadn’t lost her.

“I’m not hurt. I just need to sleep.”

“I- good. That’s peachy.” Darcy cleared her throat, and Natasha got a vivid picture in her mind of her nervous fiddling with her glasses, the accidental fingerprints on glass a testament to her nerves. How absurd, for Natasha to want to clean her glasses for her. She wanted Darcy here. She wanted to tangle her fingers in those oversized sweaters and curl up in her lap and sleep for days. She wanted the smell of Darcy in her nostrils when she woke up.

She’d been silent too long.

“Ok, so you should go sleep, pumpkin, and you better well call me the moment you wake up! Tell Thor I’m in Tromsø, Norway with his sad girlfriend and that we saw his caped ass on video, so if he doesn’t show up in the next 24 hours, I can’t guarantee the safety of his balls at any future meetings.”

Darcy ended the call. Natasha finished her shawarma.

____

 

Natasha and Steve developed a sparring routine.

Clint had been given mandatory leave-of-absence, and had sulkily retreated to a farm in the middle of nowhere. It was clear to her that his sulk was only for show, but Natasha preferred not to think about how deep his new wounds ran, from Loki and from Coulson’s death. It was good that he was away; it would be good for him.

It still left her without her preferred partner, though. But Steve had officially joined rank with SHIELD, after his break to move to DC and find himself, and despite herself, she trusted him. She might like him too, just a little. Idealism and all.

____

 

“That girl that called you after, you know – was she your girlfriend?”

Natasha dodged a kick to the rips and grabbed his arm to leverage a return kick to his throat. Nothing symbolic in shutting him up, but she did need time to think.

“Something like that. Except not.”

Steve huffed in exasperation and made a grab for her hips as she turned. She got out of the way. “Gee, that’s so informative, Natasha.” An elbow in her gut. “Why don’t you just tell me, if it’s none of my business?”

She pinched the soft skin at his armpit, making him wince. “It’s not a brush off. It’s true. She’s not my girlfriend because I’m not in love with her. I don’t work that w-“

Steve looked alarmed, interrupting her: “Natasha, you aren’t broke-“

“ _I know that_. I’m just aromantic. Look it up.”

She clenched her teeth against her anger. It wasn’t his fault, but she took extra pleasure in the groan of pain he gave as her knee connected high on his inner thigh, anyway.

“Alright, I’ll do that.” He said calmly, a little out of breath and resorting to pulling her hair, to get her away from the close quarter grabbling. He had a better chance when he could put full strength behind his hits. “I’m sorry, but there are a lot of things I don’t know or understand nowadays.”

“It’s alright. I know that. There are a lot of people who’ve lived most of their lives with the internet, and haven’t bothered to get as informed as you are. So trust me Steve, I’m not angry with you, just with the world in general.”

He grunted in assent; too busy avoiding her jabbing kicks to his shins to verbalize an answer.

“To continue my explanation” Natasha said, each word punctuated with a kick. “Darcy is many things to me. She says, I’m her special person. The internet calls it queerplatonic partners. I just know that I need her and I trust her and I – there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her.”

Steve yelped as she finally got him at the side of one knee, making him stumble. It was enough of a distraction that she could get up on his side and twist around to get him in a choke-hold, with her feet braced on his thighs. The conversation got put on hold as she wrestled him down on the madras. He tapped out after a few more seconds of struggling.

“Sounds like a girl I’d love to meet.”

 

**2013**

Sometimes, Steve had bad days. It said in his file that he couldn’t get drunk anymore, but Natasha had found him with a flask of bourbon more than once, nonetheless. When prodded, he’d told her about someone named Dum Dum Dugan. She listened to his stories, even though the files she’d read had told her all she needed to know about The Howling Commandos. Steve needed to tell someone, and she wanted to be that person.

____

 

It was only once, in a safe house waiting for extraction, that she saw him cry. It was 4 am and completely dark in their seedy little room and he’d woken her twice with nightmares. She brushed her hand through his hair, as he sobbed into the mangy sheets, and whispered to her about a boy named Bucky Barnes.

____

 

Darcy finally got around to returning to Culver and getting the last exams out of the way. She now officially had a degree in Social Sciences and no reason to hang around a physicist, who couldn’t pay her, or so she said. Natasha gave it 3 months before she returned to Jane’s side, but until then, Darcy had rented a one room apartment in DC.

Natasha ran out of favors with Hill, getting herself sent to the Triskelion instead of the Helicarrier or SHIELD Headquarters. Steve seemed pleased that she was hanging out in the city of his current residence, but to be fair, it wasn’t like he saw her more often.

Natasha gained two pounds eating ice cream and watching movies on Darcy’s couch. She tried to keep them as long as possible, when she went back in the field.

____

 

_“Are you alright?”_

_“Wow, you sound chipper Natasha-bear, are you sure-“_

_“Answer me, Darcy.”_

_“Yeah I’m fine, no broken bones. You know, a bit freaked out, but I feel like I’m getting used to near-death experiences and real-life science fiction, so-“_

_“Good. Tell Thor that I’m going to kill him, and Steve is going to help me.”_

_“Wait no, it wasn’t his fault! He’s a big alien puppy, don’t hurt him, babe. It was just Jane messing with reality again and sort of fucking up, you know how it is – in fact, Thor saved us, probably. Or, he saved Jane and then Jane build something weird with Erik that saved the universe and all - the point is, don’t kill Thor, Jane would be unbearable."_

_“I still want to punch him. What were you doing in London, anyway?”_

_“Urgh I don’t even really remember, Erik wanted to show Jane something and you know I kind of missed her, so I agreed to go, when she called and begged for my magical intern     powers, and you know, it was supposed to be a holiday, and what is my life turning into? Anyway, I noticed that you mentioned a Steve there, and I have to subtly ask, would that be Captain America?”_

_“Smooth, Darcy. Yeah, I work with him sometimes, but that’s classified, so pretend I didn’t tell you.”_

_“Yeah, I didn’t hear a thing, did you hear anything? But uhh, that guy that you definitely aren’t working with, what’s he like?”_

_“How did we end up talking about this? I called to check in about the massive alien ship you fought in the middle of Greenwich.”_

_“Are you avoiding the subject? Because I am.”_

_“Fair enough. Well, there isn’t much to tell. Steve is an infuriatingly good guy and a great team leader. He has a brilliant tactical mind. He’s terrible undercover. His ass in that combat suit makes my work day feel simultaneously shorter and longer.”_

_“Yeah I get that, I mean, even I’d tap that.”_

_“No you wouldn’t.”_

_“You’re right, I wouldn’t.”_

 

 

**2014**

She had found a moment to herself, to absorb the impact of the last days. So much had happened, not any of it good. Sam was taking care of Steve for the time being and so Natasha was free to take care of herself a little. She didn’t know where to start. She didn’t want to think about Fury at all, neither his death nor his lies. She understood the reasons, but it still hurt to have given so much for Fury’s cause and in the end, he hadn’t trusted her. Fine. She didn’t always trust herself.

She also didn’t particularly want to think about The Winter Soldier. Who was Bucky Barnes. Steve’s Bucky.

She hadn’t lied, when she told Steve about him, about being shot by him on a mission for SHIELD, but that conversation had happened before they found out, and now – well now, she’d have to find a way to tell him that she also remembers parts of her time with the KGB, and some of those parts involved the Asset. Everything was vague and fragmented from that time, when she was still being monitored and trained and controlled. She mostly tried to forget it completely, but Steve deserved to know everything she could wring out of her abused memory.

She was sure that Hydra used to work with the KGB, and she did vividly recall training sessions with The Winter Soldier. She remembered cold metal, adjusting her grip on colder metal. She remembered a shared mission, and the slowly growing glint of awareness in his eyes. She remembered a hand-shaped bruise on her hip that lasted longer than any other’s had managed and the soft kiss on her cheek after they were done. She remembered realizing that he was human and maybe she was too.

____

 

Darcy didn’t read the files when they were put online. She held Natasha as she cried silently and bitterly for yet another part of her life, and told her that losing everything sucked, but she was welcome to move in. Natasha kissed her, and got a hotel room one block over.

____

 

_“Nat, I found him.”_

______

 

They all moved back to New York. Stark had done up his tower again, after the little hiccup with The Mandarin, and made room for an assassin recovering from extreme trauma. Steve thanked him enough times to make him uncomfortable, which was a hilarious look on Tony Stark.

Natasha came along because Steve’s smiles were faked, and his shoulders slumped, and she wasn’t good at taking care of people, but she would do whatever she could.

Bucky hadn’t recognized her. (Yet.)

Darcy uprooted herself, collected Jane, and moved in too, all of Tony’s pouting protests silenced as Natasha put her hand on Darcy’s neck. Jane got a lab, right next to the one Bruce had hesitantly claimed. Thor followed Jane, so they were all a package deal anyway.

____

 

Natasha took the time to forcefully pick Clint up from his farm, declaring it a holiday home from now on. He was happier than he had been the last time she saw him, but he didn’t mention SHIELD once. She didn’t feel the need to bring it up.

The tower was turning into a strange combination of a fraternity and a hippie collective.

____

 

Bucky didn’t often leave his and Steve’s rooms, even though they didn’t restrict his access to anything. Jarvis reported the occasional shouting match, and Steve whispered to her about nightmares and flashbacks and scary loss of control. She got good at listening and Steve got better at talking. It helped if they beat each other up for a bit first.

She found Bucky once, sobbing on the kitchen floor. He didn’t look at her, but let her help him back up and to the couch.

Steve said he was getting better.

____

 

Bucky joined them for one of the habitual game nights that had randomly popped up. Natasha suspected a combination of Tony and Clint was at fault. She showed up mostly to beat everyone.

She lost to Bucky at Super Smash Bros. He grinned at her after, and she thought there was a glimmer of recognition in his eyes.

____

 

Steve brought Bucky with him to one of their sparring sessions. Natasha went out afterwards to pick up the first punk kid she could find who would be able to lift her.

____

 

Natasha was the first Steve came to, after. It was almost strange to see him so genuinely happy, and he didn’t even fight the way she squeezed his red cheeks and teased him. She was very pleased for him, and yet- it was strange. Bucky and Steve belonged together, anyone could see that, and she wasn’t jealous of either of them. She wanted them together and she was glad they finally fought their way back. She was glad Bucky was comfortable and safe and ready. She was glad Steve had finally lost the haunted look in his eyes.

She still felt something like loss, at the thought of them belonging only to each other. She had always been selfish.

____

 

It happened like this: Bucky showed up at her door, asking her to spar. Steve was out doing publicity stuff, something very necessary now that the Avengers were no longer under government protection. Natasha agreed, because it was common now, for them to train together, with or without Steve. Bucky was the only one who could consistently keep up with her at hand-to-hand. She enjoyed sparring with him.

They fought to stand-still three times. The third ended with Bucky on top of her, leaning close to her, as she was forced on her back. His metal arm was holding her wrists together behind her, forcing an arch in her spine, and her thighs were trapping him at an angle where any movement could potentially dislocate his hip. His breath tickled her throat, as his other hand tangled in her hair and pulled, to stop her from headbutting him again.

The gym was completely silent except for their heavy breathing.

“You know, Steve doesn't mind me sleeping around.”

His mouth tasted like blood.

____

 

"So how does it feel to be sleeping with probably the hottest guy in America?"

Natasha put an arm around Darcy on the couch. "I think you mean the hottest guy's boyfriend."

Darcy snuggled closer, burying her nose in Natasha's hair. "You know it is a hard choice between them. Are you sure you have to choose?"

It was a thought not entirely new to Natasha, but she hadn't breached it with either of the boys yet. She wasn't sure Steve was into threesomes, even if he was into women, and she didn't want to risk their friendship for sex. She chose deflection.

"What about you, do you have anyone in your sights?"

Darcy's silence was a second too long.

____

 

“I think you should take Darcy on a date.”

Steve almost dropped his glass. Natasha raised an eyebrow at him.

"You guys are open right? And you like her. You don't know her that well yet, but you like her.”

Steve cleared his throat awkwardly. "She's nice. Funny and charming and gutsy. Sure, I like her. But Natasha I don't want to date anyone without Bucky, and-"

Natasha resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Not just you, Steve. You, as in you and Bucky. You should try it out, all three of you."

Steve looked uncertain, fiddling with his glass. She felt a little bad for ambushing him, but this was important. It could work.

She took a moment to collect herself, and when she continued, her voice was softer: "I know both of you enjoy her company. I know she loves hanging out with you and how much fun she has with Bucky, being sassy assholes. And she admires you, Steve. Equally for your sense of justice, and the impressively high notes you can hit when presented with YouTube videos of baby animals. I know you'll respect her limits, because you've always respected mine. I think- I think you could be good together. And all three of you deserve that. Something good."

Steve had a slightly gobsmacked look on his face, but his eyes were warm as he put a hand on her shoulder. "You are included in that, you know. You deserve good things too."

He hesitated a second.

"I'll think about it. And I'll talk to Bucky."

____

 

Darcy enlisted Natasha's help in getting ready for her date. She had reasoned that since it was Natasha’s fault that it was happening at all, she should take responsibility for her actions. That responsibility had included a very nice shopping trip, with coffee breaks and new shoes. It was now resulting in a front row seat to Darcy’s freak out.

All in all, Natasha had yet to regret her actions.

____

 

Against all odds, Bucky was the one who blushed when Natasha called Darcy to the apartment door. Steve just smiled brightly, and complimented her dress. Darcy high-fived her on her way past.

____

 

Darcy cuddled up next to her, after. She had asked that Natasha stay in her rooms while she was gone, allegedly so she’d be there to comfort her when it inevitably went horribly wrong. It hadn’t of course, and Natasha didn’t hold back her smug smile as Darcy rambled happily about the boys. Darcy paused in the middle of her detailed description of Steve’s face, as Bucky decided to recount one of their more memorable fights, back in Brooklyn. Natasha knew the expression well, the combination of embarrassed outraged and overwhelming fondness, with a good part disbelieving gratitude at the fact that Bucky had even been able to remember at all.

“You know I’ll still love you best, even if I end up going steady with the old men, right?”

It was said jokingly, but Natasha knew she was serious. It was a conversation they should probably have had before now. She squeezed Darcy’s waist in reassurance.

“You don’t have to love me more; you just have to keep loving me the same as you have been. There’s room, I don’t doubt that. You and me…” She ran her hand through Darcy’s hair, trying to find words. “We’re going to be fine, no matter what. We’re a forever sort of thing.”

Darcy sniffled too close to her ear. This situation was unexpectedly sappy of them.

The silence as Darcy regained her composure lasted long enough that Natasha was starting to fall asleep. Then, Darcy cleared her throat.

“Oh yeah, another thing. Bucky says that Steve says that if you’re ever up for a threesome, he’s in.”

 

**2015**

Natasha and Darcy were cuddling on the couch in Bucky and Steve’s rooms, some terrible action movie playing on the TV. Darcy claimed that it had a cult following, despite the dismal quality. Natasha was tuning it out in favor of listening to the tiny huffs of laughter that regularly came from Darcy's direction.

Bucky had tried to insert himself at the end of the couch, whining about it being his couch, so he wanted in on the action. He’d attempted to wiggle under them, but in the end had to resort to lifting them when they had proven too lazy to cooperate, shuffling them up with a whir from his arm, and putting them back down so that Natasha’s head rest on his thigh, while Darcy's rested Natasha's chest.

He was loudly pointing out all the things that were wrong with the movie, almost getting beat up by Darcy in the process. If he hadn’t been a super soldier, there was no doubt he’d have a bruised side, from where Darcy reached up to hit him every time. Natasha told him it was like watching a 4-year-old pulling pigtails. He smushed a pillow in her face.

____

 

“Is that a private party, or is there room for one more?” Steve’s voice woke her, from where she was - embarrassingly - drooling on Bucky’s pants. The movie seemed to be over, but Darcy and Bucky had put something else on. It was unclear how much time had passed, but if Steve was back, it was probably at least a few hours.

She invitingly lifted her legs - and nudging Darcy’s legs with them, since she was lying on top of Natasha. “You can rub our feet, and we’ll consider it.” The last of her sentence was distorted by a yawn. It was a strange thing to be so relaxed around people that she could fall asleep unwittingly and not feel unsafe. Darcy giggled and lifted her hand for a fist bump, as Steve settled in to start his new job as masseur.

Life was pretty good.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!  
> On a side note, for anyone who was wondering, the fact that Natasha trips Clint into a bicycle stand in 2010, is a clear sign that she was in fact imprisoned in Denmark. (What really happened was that my danish came through and I forgot that not all countries have the ridiculous amount of bikes that we have in Denmark)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [we're in love with our best friends](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4055278) by [polyamory](https://archiveofourown.org/users/polyamory/pseuds/polyamory)




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